Mazda 3 vs Honda Civic

[Drew-B]

Help!

 

I am getting a new car hopefully within 6 or 7 months and I don't know which to get!

 

I'll have a 9 or 10 thousand dollar down payment for the car so financing either won't leave me a massive monthly payment.

 

I really like the looks of the 2010 Mazda 3 and 2009 Honda Civic. The 2010 Civic models have not been released yet.

I know how the civic drives because my mom has a 2006 model.

However, I have yet to drive the Mazda because the nearest dealership is 250 miles away.

 

Anybody have any thoughts?

Mazda 3 interior

Honda Civic interior

Mazda 3 exterior

Honda Civic exterior

[paintballer]

Honda defiantly has the upper hand in reliability, that would be my buy. The interior is freaking sexy too. But why not save your money get a junker truck of sorts, there reliable, plus, if your planning on going to college, No debt to pay off before you go!

[spaceace12]

Having driven a Mazda 6, they are quite possibly the most fun car I have driven on the highway. Five speed auto stick in the one I had was fun. But I would go with the Honda, that 3 is just plain ugly. Looks like the designer just wanted a front end as huge as possibly and then he just put a smile in the grill.

 

Of course, if I had that kind of money saved up to spend on a new car, I would be getting a Jeep and lifting and all kinds of things.

[BeemerBoy]

Thoughts? Well, you're 16 and have 9 or 10k down on a new car. Buy the one you think looks best to you, and enjoy it. It's not like you've got a wife and two kids to think about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least I hope not.

[Drew-B]

Thoughts? Well, you're 16 and have 9 or 10k down on a new car. Buy the one you think looks best to you, and enjoy it. It's not like you've got a wife and two kids to think about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least I hope not.

 

You don't need to worry, no wife or kids pour moi.

[Satchboogie3]

Why not a '04-'06 Audi A4? You want something fun!

 

All kidding aside, I'd go with the Mazda. But, then again, I really don't like either car.

[ParkTrips]

Madza3 5-door > Civic > Mazda3 4-door

 

A good friend of mine has a 3 hatch, and its a really nice little car and both will do fine. If you are going for a manual transmission though, I'm not sure there is a better car to learn on than the Honda.

[Drew-B]

I hate to sound like a negative nancy, but my mother had an audi that she bought brand new in '03 and had nothing but problems with it. With those problems, came the huge price of repairs because it's german. This is way i don't want a VW, BMW, or Audi.

 

My mom ALSO says she doesn't want me to get a stick because I'm probably going to college in San Francisco, I don't think i need to state the obvious..

[BeemerBoy]

My mom ALSO says she doesn't want me to get a stick because I'm probably going to college in San Francisco, I don't think i need to state the obvious..

 

My left knee hurts just from thinking about that. I wonder if anyone really is crazy enough to drive a stick in 'Frisco? I drove one for awhile around the mountain roads here, and it certainly put a strain on the bad knee.

[hyyyper]

^Do you guys mean a manual car with 'stick' ?

[BeemerBoy]

Do you guys mean a manual car with 'stick' ?

Yep.

[ParkTrips]

My left knee hurts just from thinking about that. I wonder if anyone really is crazy enough to drive a stick in 'Frisco?

My comment when I was out there was "this is where brake pads and clutches go to die" I know someone who does have a MT out there and I think he said he's gotten as little as 5K out of a clutch before, thats just absurd! Yeah I would totally go auto in the city, especially San Fran

[Drew-B]

^Do you guys mean a manual car with 'stick' ?

 

Yes, we do.

[RBOrrell]

Personally I would go with the Mazda. But I have two in the driveway now (a 5 and a 6). I have also had 2 MPVs, a Tribute and a Protege.

 

You might check with your insurance agent to see which is cheaper to insure - especially at your age.

[Drew-B]

Personally I would go with the Mazda. But I have two in the driveway now (a 5 and a 6). I have also had 2 MPVs, a Tribute and a Protege.

 

You might check with your insurance agent to see which is cheaper to insure - especially at your age.

 

 

I'm not a HUGE car buff, but does the fact that the Mazda is a rotary engine make a difference (performance/maintenance wise)? I assume since they're japanese like hondas they're not very high-maintenance..

[DBru]

Go with the Mazda! While I don't like the cut out piece in the front, overall, I think the exterior and interior look much sharper than the Honda's.

 

Neither of them should be too terribly bad on insurance for you...or at least compared to a sports car. My insurance agent told us that most 4 door cars are much cheaper on insurance for people our age than anything with just 2.

[MG]

I love how you all have automatic cars, here Manual is the norm. As for the cars, in the UK, Hondas are for old people, Mazdas are sweet cool little sports cars. Having said that, the UK Honda Civic is awesome, though your cars are always about double the size of ours.

Demo

UK Honda Civic

UK Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is just to demo different car sizes.

However, my advice, though probably wrong for where you are, is to get a little sporty manual Mazda. Yeah, it will be unreliable as hell and a pain to drive, but at the end of the day, it will be sooo much more fun

EDIT: I just thought that there is a certain irony in me posting in this thread considering my member name, not that my member name was meant to be affiliated with the car marque

[BeemerBoy]

Yeah, it will be unreliable as hell and a pain to drive, but at the end of the day, it will be sooo much more fun.

 

Why am I struggling to imagine most folks walking into their local dealership and saying, "I'm looking for an unreliable pain in the a$$ to drive?"

[astroworldfan1]

I LOVE Honda! If you want a car that will last, go for the civic. I have a 2001 Honda Accord and it is still in great shape.

 

I'm not a fan of the Mazda's rear end..It looks tacky. The Mazda doesn't have the the digital gauges, you'll love those!

 

-Tatum "Buy the Honda!!!!!"

 

EDIT: Are you sure that the 2010 Civic hasn't been released yet? I know that my local Honda dealership has them already.

[Drew-B]

I LOVE Honda! If you want a car that will last, go for the civic. I have a 2001 Honda Accord and it is still in great shape.

 

I'm not a fan of the Mazda's rear end..It looks tacky. The Mazda doesn't have the the digital gauges, you'll love those!

 

-Tatum "Buy the Honda!!!!!"

 

EDIT: Are you sure that the 2010 Civic hasn't been released yet? I know that my local Honda dealership has them already.

 

My mother has an 06 honda civic which is the first year of the current body style. It's nice, but i feel like other than the digital gauge and the tachometer (sp?) it's lacking.

 

ALSO i don't really see any useful reasoning behind the digital speedometer.

[astroworldfan1]

I think the digital speedometer is for enhanced safety. That's why it's placed above the other gauges. It's easily noticeable with an ever slight glance.

 

Plus, Honda has all sorts of safety features...If your radio is stolen out of your car, the thieves will not be able to use it without a special code.

 

Try the Honda....I enjoyed driving it when I driver's ed in a new one. I loved it.

[ParkTrips]

The Mazda doesn't have the the digital gauges, you'll love those! .

Personally that is a turn off for me. Cars without voltometers, cars without dipsticks... some stuff shouldn't be messed with, and speedometers are one of them if you ask me.

 

If your radio is stolen out of your car, the thieves will not be able to use it without a special code.

dude this is a pretty old feature.

 

I had an Accord rental for 2 weeks a while back, and while I didn't hate it I wouldn't buy it either. Very "meh" as they say. The comforts were nice, don't get me wrong, but the drive was so dull. I even found myself using cruise control occasionally, which is a sin to me.

 

Basically I think we all agree if you want superior reliability, go Honda.. but if you prefer to have a little more fun, go with the Mazda. I'm just jealous I certainly didn't have $10k saved up when I was 15

[Emiroo]

...that 3 is just plain ugly. Looks like the designer just wanted a front end as huge as possibly and then he just put a smile in the grill.

 

Looking at the picture, I agreed with this statement 100%. But then I saw a black 3 on the way to work this morning. With the black on black scheme, the grill blended in nicely and didn't look obnoxious. It was actually pretty sharp. If you get the 3, get it in black. Any other color and that grill goes back to being fugly.

 

But then again, I'm a Honda man.

[Coasterlvr_nc]

I'm not much of a fan of either car. But being a mazda driver I do have to say. My car is nowhere near unreliable, whatsoever! (even at 138K miles)

And I feel that the Mazda would be cooler than the Honda. Plus Mazdas are plain fun to drive, especially stickshift

 

EDIT: Just fyi, Mazda 3 is not a rotary engine. The cars with rotaries are the RX-7 and RX-8.

[Drew-B]

Here's my two cents, I feel like the Mazdas are more, hmm, 'youthful' (?) than the Hondas.

 

The Hondas just have this odd 'old lady' look to them every few times i see one. I just can't quite put my finger on what it is though.